Sir: The Sindh government is fully aware that the firefighting system of Karachi has been the weakening, despite that fact that this city is becoming most populous city. Concerned authorities have now started taking immediate steps to rectify the situation Karachi. In a city of over 20 million people, at least 206 fire stations are needed to deal with any hazards. Unfortunately, Karachi has only 22. Moreover, the city needs at least 200 fire tenders but it has a mere 43. These dismal figures were shared by MBA students at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), who carried out a study to highlight the lack of firefighting arrangements in the metropolis as part of their university project. The study compares fire safety standards in Karachi to those of several developed cities around the world. It came as no surprise that Karachi fell behind the developed cities in most area and what was remarkable was gap in facilities it possesses. Adjusted for population, Karachi needs almost 10,000 more fire safety personnel to meet the ratio of London – a city that boasts of having six times the number of safety personnel in Karachi and 25 times the number of fire units. The country suffers an estimated loss of Rs 400 billion every year due to fire hazards and yet no national fire safety policy has been implemented. A policy was drafted by the National Disaster Management Authority, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, but it has been pending approval for three years now. This year, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation announced a budget of Rs140 million for the fire department but this generous allocation has yet to materialise – the central fire station in the city has only one complete protective gear for its workers. “The complete gear is only for display and has been donated to the department,” revealed another researcher. He added that firefighters are often seen wearing kurta shalwar with helmets and leather boots when they go to fighting fire, the researchers claim. This claim was later refuted by the chief fire officer, who insisted that all the firefighters are given proper gear. He did not hesitate to add, however, that the number of fire stations is alarmingly low. When asked who should be held accountable for the lack of fire stations, he had no response. “You are asking the wrong person,” was all he could muster. The IBA researchers pointed out that the Karachi Building Control Authority is the organisation that sets fire safety regulations but there is no monitoring and implementation. Due to a lack of strict monitoring, these regulations are seen as mere guidelines. ZUNAIRA KHAN Karachi Published in Daily Times, December 16th2018.